


the devil within

by darklingbooks



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, but theres vampires, everything is to be determined, got a random idea for this, not sure where exactly its gonna head, only like 10 ppl read it anyway but i already changed the name of this lol, potential slow-ish burn, sorry im a mess and cant articulate more than this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-20 19:31:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21062003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darklingbooks/pseuds/darklingbooks
Summary: Halloween had always been one of Alina's favorite holidays, but she never expected that going to one party would result in a murder and the uncovering of something she never could have expected.





	1. Prologue

"D-don't come any closer." Genya's voice broke as she weakly held an arm out to keep me back, but I'd always been stubborn and shoved forward anyway. 

There were still several people between myself and what everyone was clustered around and I suddenly felt hands wrap around my waist, I spun around quickly ready to hit someone until my eyes met the hazel ones of Nikolai. An unusual emotion hidden in them as he found it hard to look directly into my eyes.

"Alina you need to get back to your dorm, you can't see that." He began trying to pull me away, but even though it felt like a rock dropped in my stomach, my stubbornness won out. 

"Why can't I see?" I pulled myself away from Nikolai and began moving through the crowd again, quickly losing sight of Nikolai. It was as I got closer to the start of the crowd I began to get more nervous. More people had begun to recognize me and had started whispering - a few even trying to pull me away like Nikolai and Genya had. As I finally reached the front of the crowd I let out the most blood curdling scream I could have mustered. 

The love of my life was sprawled lifeless in front of me with his throat torn out.


	2. Disaster

“Genya, I love you, but this costume idea is horrible.” 

I ducked as a hairbrush came sailing through the air, narrowly missing my face. “If you thought that, why didn’t you tell me weeks ago instead of the night of Halloween!” Genya shrilled, her amber eyes filled with mock anger.

I shrugged. “You liked the idea so much, I didn’t want to make you upset.” 

“Alina, you know I prefer you to just tell me what you think right? It’s not good to not speak your mind because of other people.” Genya chided softly, turning back to her mirror to finish braiding her hair. 

I rolled my eyes slightly before also continuing to style my hair. I’d heard from Genya plenty of times over the years that I’m too quiet about what I want. She’d even said the same about my relationship with Mal many times over, but just because I wasn’t as loud about my opinions as she was didn’t mean I was wrong. 

“All I’m saying is the three blind mice but sexy is the actual most random group costume you could have chosen.” I turned to stick my tongue out at her and she grinned while rolling her eyes slightly. 

“Well only Zoya agreed to do this with us, and that’s a group costume for three.” Genya said, throwing her braid over her shoulder before moving to her closet to get the outfit. 

The three of us had decided that in order to make the three blind mice sexy, we had to be fairly naked. Genya and Zoya had no problem with this, as they were both naturally gorgeous and confident. I on the other hand was more nervous about the outfit. I was much scrawnier than Genya and Zoya, so I wouldn’t fill the leotard in as well. Not to mention I preferred to layer up during this weather and now I was expected to show more skin than I showed even in summer. 

Genya disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared a few moments later. The outfit that was decided on, mostly without my help, was a dark gray leotard with black tights underneath. Followed with a headband with mouse ears and tails we made out of light pink fabric that could be attached to the back of the leotard. 

“Well?” Genya prompted, moving her hands around her outfit.

“Stunning as always.” I said with a smile before finishing my own braid and looking at myself again in the mirror. I still couldn’t believe Genya had convinced me to dye my hair white. There was no reason for it other than Genya saying I would look hot and Mal would never stop drooling over me.  
Since Genya had only just done my hair last night, no one had even seen it yet. I was more than a bit nervous to show up to a party with my hair like this, but there was no going back now. 

“Hurry up and get dressed, Zoya and Nikolai said they’d meet us here at 9 and it's almost 9 now.” Genya quickly grabbed my costume from my closet and pushed me into the bathroom. 

I dressed quickly, but spent several minutes staring at myself and wondering why on earth I agreed to this before I heard a knock. Zoya and Nikolai were here.

I nervously stepped out of the bathroom to be greeted by Genya squealing and a soft ‘holy shit’ from Nikolai. 

I looked up and searched for Zoya’s eyes first. She was always the most honest and I found I trusted her the most when it came to her opinions on me trying something new. Genya was known to hype all of her friends up over nothing, and Nikolai used to have a crush on me freshman year so they were unreliable. 

“Alina, you look hot.” Zoya said with a smirk before moving into our dorm more fully. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding and smiled at her. 

“You look amazing too.” I replied, and I of course meant it. 

I had roomed with Genya all four years of college, and we’d both met Zoya one week into our first semester. I had always been slightly intimidated by the both of them simply because of how independent and confident they were, but over the years they’d both helped to bring some of that out in me. 

“Mal’s totally going to freak out.” Genya stated before pulling me under her arm. “I did pretty good on her hair, didn’t I?” 

Nikolai, who hadn’t said anything else since he’d come over just nodded. This prompted Zoya to elbow him in the gut. “Stop drooling Lantsov, it’s not very seemly of you.” 

Nikolai rubbed his gut while glaring at Zoya before straightening up. “I wasn’t drooling, I was observing.”

That caused a giggle to escape from my lips, and I finally looked up to fully take in Nikolai’s outfit. “Really? A pirate?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Nikolai said with a small pout.

“Only the fact you’ve been a pirate the last three years.” Zoya scoffed. “You really think being friends with Genya would have rubbed off on him but nooo.” 

“It’s all I had.” Nikolai stated, still fake pouting. 

“Nikolai, you’re so rich you could buy out several Spirit Halloween’s, what do you mean it’s all you had?” Genya criticised. 

It was well known by most people at Ravka University that Nikolai was loaded. His dad was one of the largest donors to the campus and there were several buildings named for him and other members of his family. 

“I just like being a pirate.” Nikolai said with a small shrug before lightly pushing Genya’s shoulder. “Come on, let's take some pictures, you all know how the camera loves my face.” 

I rolled my eyes before moving closer to take some selfies with all of them. It took some yelling from Genya but Nikolai reluctantly stopped being in the pictures to take some of the matching outfits the three of us were in. 

It had been nearly an hour later when Genya loudly clapped her hands. “Okay, so Mal said to go to the frat by 10 so we should start getting ready to go now.” 

Zoya, Nikolai, and I all nodded our agreement and grabbed our belongings and did a few final touch ups before heading out. Unfortunately, the frat was on the other side of campus, so I would have to actually be seen by a majority of people before even reaching our destination and my stomach dropped.

“Come on Alina, you look fantastic. Everyone’s going to be wishing they were Mal tonight.” Genya said, clearly having picked up on my nervousness, before looping her arm through mine and leading us all out of the dorm. 

\------

The party had been going on for several hours now, and I had had too many drinks. I was used to being the more sober of our friend group, but Genya insisted that since it’s Halloween and it’s her favorite holiday I had to go all out. 

As predicted, Mal absolutely lost his mind when he saw my new hair and the costume I came in. He didn’t stop complimenting me for the first hour of me being there, and it felt really good to feel so wanted. 

Now, I was sitting on one of the worn out couches, nursing a water bottle to try to quell the inevitable hangover I’d have tomorrow when Nikolai plopped down next to me. “How’s your night been?” He queried innocently, but I knew what he was really trying to ask. 

“You’re gross.” I lightly hit his shoulder before trying to stand and realizing I had less balance than I thought.  
Nikolai quickly grabbed my elbow to steady me before helping me sit again. “It’s just an honest question Alina.” 

“Well nothing has happened. In fact, I haven’t even seen Mal in a while.” Anxiety started to pool in my stomach. My drunkenness not helping my overactive imagination. I knew about the rumors of Mal being a huge player before we started dating at the end of last year, but I really thought he had changed. What if he was with someone else right now?

Nikolai, who was almost as good as Genya at picking up the shifts in my mood quickly stood up. “I’m sure he’s just outside with everyone else, I’ll go look for him.” I sent him a grateful smile and slumped back into the couch to wait.

It had been nearly twenty minutes and Nikolai hadn’t returned. I had spotted Zoya not too long ago, but she was following a boy somewhere. I couldn’t even tell who he was because of his mask, only that he had raven dark hair. Since I knew Zoya was more than capable of handling herself, I hadn’t tried to follow. 

Now however, curiosity was getting the best of me. Especially since the few people remaining in the frat began running towards the exit. Had a fight broken out outside?

Standing up, and feeling less disoriented than before I began making my way outside, only to "run into Genya almost immediately at the edge of a crowd of people.

D-don't come any closer." Genya's voice broke as she weakly held an arm out to keep me back, but I'd always been stubborn and shoved forward anyway.  
There were still several people between myself and what everyone was clustered around and I suddenly felt hands wrap around my waist, I spun around quickly ready to hit someone until my eyes met the hazel ones of Nikolai. An unusual emotion hidden in them as he found it hard to look directly into my eyes.  
"Alina you need to get back to your dorm, you can't see that." He began trying to pull me away, but even though it felt like a rock dropped in my stomach, my stubbornness won out. 

"Why can't I see?" I pulled myself away from Nikolai and began moving through the crowd again, quickly losing sight of Nikolai. It was as I got closer to the start of the crowd I began to get more nervous. More people had begun to recognize me and had started whispering - a few even trying to pull me away like Nikolai and Genya had. As I finally reached the front of the crowd I let out the most blood curdling scream I could have mustered. 

The love of my life was sprawled lifeless in front of me with his throat torn out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been like a whole year, I always write things and get busy or distracted or lose interest right away and don't worry I hate myself for it too. Anyway, since Halloween is tomorrow and I really only planned for this to be a one shot that was a few chapters long maybe I can finish it up today and tomorrow but no promises!


	3. Confusion

It had been nearly two weeks since Mal had been murdered. All campus activities had been cancelled and classes were put on suspension while the investigation proceeded. 

Many students had understandably left campus, but the general population was still there. The few times I felt okay enough to leave my dorm, all I got were looks of pity from strangers. Clearly, news travels fast that I was Mal’s girlfriend. 

“I’m going to get something to eat, do you want me to bring something back?” Genya asked softly, standing near the door and putting her shoes on. 

I took a deep breath and sat up. My hair was a rats nest and I’d been wearing the same sweats and t-shirt for three days. Nothing felt important enough to do anymore. 

“No, I’ll go with you. Just give me a few minutes.” I didn’t really want to go out, in fact if I could have stayed in bed for the rest of my life I wouldn’t have minded, but I owed it to Genya. She had been nothing but supportive and amazing the last two weeks, I could manage one outing for food for her. 

Zoya on the other hand hadn’t said a single word to Genya, Nikolai or I since I last saw her with that boy. I even tried to find out who he was when I had gone back to the frat to go through Mal’s things, but I’d been told he wasn’t a brother and that no one even knew who I was talking about. 

It made me incredibly nervous, what if she had shared the same fate as Mal, but no one had been able to find her yet?

Shuffling to my closet, I grabbed a pair of jeans and a simple sweater before heading to the bathroom to change. Instead of trying to deal with my hair, I just threw it up in a bun and went back into the main room. I quickly grabbed my backpack, keys, and work I had to do before meeting Genya at the door.

“You're going to do homework?” She queried lightly. 

“I was thinking of going to the library after we got food. Even though classes are suspended, there's still work I could be doing.” I shifted the straps on my backpack as Genya’s amber eyes pierced my own before she started to open the door, mumbling science majors on her way out. 

\-----

We had decided to go to a cafe located just off of campus, and spent several hours talking about random topics. It honestly made me feel a lot better being able to distract my mind for a while and Genya always knew how to make my mood better. 

It was now nearing sunset and I checked my watch. “The library closes in three hours, I should probably head over.” 

Genya started to stand with me. “Do you want me to come study with you?” 

“No, it’s okay. I could use some time to just focus on my schoolwork.” I hid my smile as I saw the relief in Genya’s face. She hated studying, and hated doing it with me even more since I didn’t talk to her much while we were studying. 

“I might invite David over then.” Genya said with a wink as we left the cafe and made our way back onto campus. 

“First of all, gross. Second of all, at least neaten up my side of the room. He doesn’t need to think I’m a slob.” I said, shoving her lightly as we walked. 

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and shook her head. I was about to ask her what she was going to say when she pulled on my arm hard and started pointing excitedly in front of us. “Look, it’s Zoya!” 

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I spotted our dark haired friend across the path. “Zoya!” 

Her head snapped up as she caught sight of us and she immediately began quickly walking in the opposite direction. “What’s wrong with her?” Genya asked quickly before starting to sprint towards her, with me following not too far behind. 

It took several minutes, but we were finally able to catch up to Zoya. She looked like a wreck. Even worse than I did, which at this point I thought was impossible to do.

“Zoya what’s wrong? Where have you been?” I asked, reaching my arm out to touch her shoulder. But she jerked back quickly, a feral look in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Genya and I shared a look before looking at Zoya again. “What is that supposed to mean?” 

Zoya’s eyes refused to stay in more than one place, shifting everywhere and it was beginning to make me really worried. She tried to run her hand through her hair, but instead it got caught on a huge knot and she pulled her hand away with a hiss. 

“Just go inside. I can’t tell you more than that, but if you stay out any longer, you’ll regret it.” Her voice was harsh, and as I opened my mouth to question her again, she was gone.

“What? Where did she go?” I asked in surprise, looking around everywhere but not catching even a glimpse of her. “How did she disappear that fast?”

Genya seemed startled. “I have no idea, but we should go. Can the library wait for another day?” 

“No,” I started and Genya opened her mouth to argue but I put a hand up to stop her. “I need to do my work, it’s been too long since I’ve done anything. I don’t know what’s wrong with Zoya, but she seems out of it.” 

“Which is why we should listen to her Alina! Zoya is the most composed person in the world, if she thinks we should stay inside, I think we should listen to her.” Genya started to pull my forward this time, but I ripped my arm out of her grasp. 

“Well I’ll be inside, at the library.” My stubbornness was showing again but I didn’t care. This was the first day in two weeks I had felt better since what had happened to Mal, I wasn’t about to go ruin it because Zoya wasn’t making sense.

Genya and I stared hard at each other for a moment before she sighed. “Fine, but if you aren’t back by midnight when the library closes I’m going to be mad at you for forever.” 

I let a small smile escape. “Okay Genya, you can be mad at me for forever, but I’ll be back before then.” 

We started walking again until we reached the library. “Text me when you’re leaving, okay?” Genya asked, starting down the path that would lead back to our dorm. 

“Yes, I promise.” I gave her a quick hug before running up the short flight of stairs and into the library. 

\----

It was now nearing eleven thirty and I had caught up on a majority of the work I needed to. I hadn’t been as productive as I wanted, my thoughts kept drifting to Zoya and how she had disappeared so quickly earlier, but I had gotten more done tonight than I had in weeks. 

I could hear the librarian moving around and alerting the other students still here the library was closing soon, so before she reached me I started to pack my notes up. Just as I placed my last notebook into my bag, I caught a glimpse of raven black hair and I froze. Was this the guy Zoya had last been seen with?

Ignoring every logical part of my brain that was telling me to not go up to this man, I began following him at a distance. As he exited the library, he went to the right. Only upperclassmen lived on the right side of campus, so maybe he was just another senior I hadn’t met before. 

Keeping my distance, I watched as he glanced over his shoulder every few minutes, and every time I was barely able to get out of his line of sight. 

However, I could now tell he was quite tall, at least six foot, and had pale skin. Even with me being able to distinguish more of what he looked like I still had no idea who he was. 

We were nearing the edge of campus when I realized I had lost sight of him. 

“Shit.” I muttered to myself before turning around and making my way back to my own dorm. 

Suddenly I felt hands grab my wrists and I was pulled to the side of one of the residence buildings, my back roughly hitting the brick wall. “Were you following me?” 

I looked up to see who had stopped me and my voice caught in my throat. It was the man I had been following and he was stunning. His face seemed carved out of marble, there were no blemishes present at all and he had the most stunning quartz colored eyes I had ever seen.

“Well?” His voice sounded husky, and the way he was scrutinizing me made me freeze even more.

“W-Who are you?” I stuttered, my voice coming out much more quiet than I intended it to. 

“Who I am isn’t important, what’s important is that you were following me and I want to know why.” His grip tightened slightly and I winced at the pressure.

“I was following you because you were with my friend Zoya on Halloween. I saw her for the first time in two weeks a few hours ago and she looked terrible. What did you do to her?” This time, my voice came out more strong, and I was glad to see him look surprised at this. 

“What makes you think I did anything to her?” He questioned coolly, the expression on his face hardly changing. 

“You were the last person seen with her for starters.” I stated angrily, shifting my arms so he was forced to loosen his grip. “I’d also still like to know who you are.” 

“You’ll know who I am soon enough.” 

“What’s that supposed to mea-” But I was cut off as he dipped his head low and bit into my neck.


End file.
